Average power rating of opponents played: HOUSTON 23.2, KANSAS CITY 14.3

SCHEDULE AND RESULTS

HOUSTON - Season Results

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Team Stats

Opp Stats

Date

Opponent

Score

SU

Line

ATS

Tot.

O/U

Rushing

Passing

TO

Rushing

Passing

TO

9/9/2013

@ SAN DIEGO

31-28

W

-5

L

44

O

28-120

34-45-329

1

20-80

14-29-183

1

9/15/2013

TENNESSEE

30-24

W

-7

L

41.5

O

28-172

26-48-280

2

33-119

17-30-129

0

9/22/2013

@ BALTIMORE

9-30

L

1.5

L

44

U

23-94

25-35-170

1

31-75

16-24-161

0

9/29/2013

SEATTLE

20-23

L

1.5

L

41

O

35-151

31-49-325

3

30-179

12-23-91

2

10/6/2013

@ SAN FRANCISCO

3-34

L

4

L

42.5

U

30-131

22-40-182

4

36-177

6-15-107

0

10/13/2013

ST LOUIS

13-38

L

-9.5

L

42.5

O

30-153

27-38-267

4

25-99

12-16-117

0

10/20/2013

@ KANSAS CITY

11/3/2013

INDIANAPOLIS

11/10/2013

@ ARIZONA

11/17/2013

OAKLAND

KANSAS CITY - Season Results

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Team Stats

Opp Stats

Date

Opponent

Score

SU

Line

ATS

Tot.

O/U

Rushing

Passing

TO

Rushing

Passing

TO

9/8/2013

@ JACKSONVILLE

28-2

W

-3

W

43

U

28-120

21-34-171

0

23-71

19-41-107

2

9/15/2013

DALLAS

17-16

W

-3

L

45

U

25-114

21-36-199

0

16-37

30-42-281

2

9/19/2013

@ PHILADELPHIA

26-16

W

3

W

50.5

U

37-147

22-35-248

0

28-260

13-30-171

5

9/29/2013

NY GIANTS

31-7

W

-3

W

44

U

28-102

24-41-288

3

21-98

18-37-200

3

10/6/2013

@ TENNESSEE

26-17

W

-2

W

37.5

O

26-120

20-39-233

2

22-105

21-41-234

3

10/13/2013

OAKLAND

24-7

W

-8

W

41.5

U

27-111

14-31-105

1

27-125

18-34-149

3

10/20/2013

HOUSTON

10/27/2013

CLEVELAND

11/3/2013

@ BUFFALO

11/17/2013

@ DENVER

KEY GAME INFORMATION

HOUSTON: The cornerstone of Houston's offense remains its zone-blocking running scheme, though the club did slip from first to ninth in the NFL in terms of run/pass ratio. The offensive line has steadily developed into one of the NFL's best, a mobile group that specializes in (for now, still legal) cut blocking. It's a one-cut system for their backs, where Arian Foster thrives. The Texans seem to have lost some faith in Ben Tate, as Foster played a league-leading 847 snaps last season.
The Texans use a conservative West Coast passing game that works off play-action but doesn't do a lot downfield. Andre Johnson is the centerpiece, a guy who gets moved around and is almost always Matt Schaub's first look. Tight end Owen Daniels still serves as the default No. 2 target, often working off Johnson on the same side of the field. Rookie DeAndre Hopkins will be more of a field stretcher on the opposite side. Foster was utilized less in the passing game last year, though Houston could look to rekindle the screen game considering Schaub's inability to get the ball deep. Houston is one of the NFL's most run-heavy red zone teams. Foster led the league in touchdowns of less than 10 yards last year (14) and had 71.9 percent of Houston's touches inside the 10.
Just the presence of Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt (NFL-best 20.5 sacks, 39 TFL) is enough to make the Texans a strong defense, and the addition of playmaking FS Ed Reed (9 career TD) and the healthy return of ILB Brian Cushing makes them truly elite. CBs Johnathan Joseph and Kareem Jackson are stellar shutdown corners. Versatile Danieal Manning should have little trouble shifting from free safety to strong safety, and the team expects big things from OLB Whitney Mercilus in his second season.

KANSAS CITY: New head coach Andy Reid will bring his West Coast offense to K.C., but unlike in Philly, his personnel with the Chiefs will force a more run-heavy approach. Jamaal Charles will be the focal point of the offense, as the Chiefs will incorporate a lot of zone blocking and stretch plays outside the tackles. They'll also use a lot of shotgun and spread formations to create space for Charles. Reid rode LeSean McCoy hard in Philly, and Charles is looking at a similarly huge workload. Rookie Knile Davis is coming off a rough season at Arkansas, but could emerge as the thunder in the Chiefs' backfield.
Reid and new offensive coordinator Doug Pederson, most recently his QB coach with the Eagles, will run a classic West Coast offense. Alex Smith will work off play-action a lot and they'll move the pocket around for him. Dwayne Bowe will spend most of his time at flanker as the No. 1 receiver in this offense, with Donnie Avery stretching the field as a split end. The Chiefs are built for a lot of two-tight end sets, with Anthony Fasano in-line and more likely to stay in and block, and rookie Travis Kelce as the pass-catching H-back. Reid has talked up Dexter McCluster, but he figures to be only a part-time weapon. In the red zone, Smith will likely be put on a lot of sprint-outs on what are run-pass options.
No team forced fewer turnovers (13) than the Chiefs last year, who had just four takeaways over the final eight games. New defensive coordinator Bob Sutton will try to mix things up with his 3-4 base that provides multiple looks and will blitz more than last year. The Chiefs had only five sacks coming from their defensive line in 2012, but OLBs Justin Houston and Tamba Hali combined for 19 sacks. The team added free agent CBs Dunta Robinson and Sean Smith to give the front seven more time to apply the pressure.

The most opportunistic defense in the NFL and strong special teams have allowed the Kansas City Chiefs to overcome a mediocre offense for the second-best start in team history.

The Houston Texans haven't been quite as fortunate, with a glaring turnover problem weighing down its league-best defense and otherwise quality offense.

Kansas City (6-0) will look to capitalize on those issues Sunday when it hosts Houston, which will have third-stringer Case Keenum at quarterback over injured starter Matt Schaub as it looks to avoid its first five-game losing streak in nearly eight years.

Defense and special teams have accounted for 46.1 percent of the Chiefs' points, including five touchdowns. The 2003 Chiefs had seven TDs from the defense and special teams in their first six wins during a 9-0 start, the only one in team history better than this year's.

Husain Abdullah's 44-yard interception return for a score with 1:35 left helped seal a 24-7 home victory over Oakland on Sunday.

"It's something we talked about from Day 1, the scoring. There's equal opportunity in all three phases," coach Andy Reid said. "We wanted everybody to have their chance to score a touchdown."

Houston (2-4) isn't nearly as upbeat despite allowing 252.8 yards per game, easily the best mark in the NFL. The Texans' offense is averaging 395.7 yards, seventh most in the league, but they're scoring 17.7 points per game - the seventh-lowest mark.

A minus-12 turnover differential has been a big reason for that, as only the winless New York Giants at minus-16 are worse.

The Texans have committed 12 turnovers during their four-game slide. They haven't lost five in a row since a six-game skid Nov. 6-Dec. 11, 2005.

"Turnovers get you beat in this league and they're getting us beat on a consistent basis," said coach Gary Kubiak, who won division titles the last two years but may be on the hot seat with a 4-8 record since an 11-1 start last season.

After throwing nine interceptions in the previous five games, Schaub was finally turnover-free in a 38-13 home loss to St. Louis on Sunday. However, he suffered injuries to his right ankle and foot on a third-quarter sack and won't play this week.

Kubiak chose to start Keenum in what will be his NFL debut over backup T.J. Yates, who was 12 of 17 for 98 yards while getting picked off twice and sacked twice in relief of Schaub last week. Keenum, a record-setting quarterback at the University of Houston, spent last season on the practice squad and joined the Texans as an undrafted free agent.

He'll be facing a Kansas City team that leads the league with 31 sacks.

This matchup also features the two leading rushers in the AFC, with Houston's Arian Foster running for 341 yards in the past three games to push his season total to a conference-best 531.

Jamaal Charles, second in the league with 129.2 scrimmage yards per game behind Philadelphia's LeSean McCoy (145.2), has accounted for seven of Kansas City's 12 offensive TDs. He was leaned on heavily again versus the Raiders, recording 128 of the team's 216 total yards.

The Chiefs' 326.3 yards-per-game average ranks 25th in the NFL, and Alex Smith is 32nd with 6.16 yards per passing attempt.

"If we can get our offense to play as well as our defense is playing right now, it's going to be great," receiver Dexter McCluster said.

Former Pro Bowler Dwayne Bowe has only 20 receptions for 229 yards and two TDs. However, he caught six passes for 108 yards and two scores in the teams' last meeting, a 35-31 Texans home win Oct. 17, 2010.

Andre Johnson caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Schaub with 28 seconds remaining to cap a 10-point fourth-quarter comeback, which gave Houston a 3-2 series advantage. Johnson has averaged 105.6 receiving yards with four TDs in five career games against Kansas City.

Arrowhead Stadium, which set a Guinness World Record for loudest outdoor sports stadium in Sunday's game with the crowd reaching 137.5 decibels, could create a further hindrance for Keenum.

The Raiders were whistled for three false starts and three delay-of-game penalties, and the Texans have been penalized for more yardage than any other team with 459.

Houston announced Wednesday it will be without starting safety Danieal Manning for the rest of the year due to a right knee injury suffered Sunday. Third-year player Shiloh Keo will take his place.